The FCC dismissed a California amateur radio operator’s request to change decades-old...
The FCC dismissed a California amateur radio operator’s request to change decades-old rules, to take account of changes in technology and amateur practice. Gordon Schlesinger of San Diego said in a petition filed in September 2009 that Section 97.1 of…
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the rules, laying out five basic principles for the service, is outdated. The rule was adopted by the FCC in 1951. The commission modified its rules in 1989 but declined to change Section 97.1. “With regard to your contention that Section 97.1 is outmoded due to changes in technology and practices, and that it diverges from the practical realities of the amateur service today, we note that the basis and purpose of the amateur service was not intended to reflect any particular technology or the practices of a particular time,” the FCC said. “Rather, Section 97.1 is intended to provide guidance as to the accomplishments the Commission expects of the service and to assist in international negotiations affecting the service.” Nothing in the petition “demonstrates that the Commission’s expectations for the amateur service have changed or are not being met, or that the rule is in some way hampering international negotiations that affect the amateur service,” the FCC said.